Russia to have first new nuclear icebreaker in 2017 — deputy PM

Russia will get its first nuclear icebreaker of a new series in 2017, and it will have three such vessels by 2020, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday.

Russia will get its first nuclear icebreaker of a new series in 2017, and it will have three such vessels by 2020, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday.

"We will have the first icebreaker of the new series in 2017, then in 2019 and 2020. We will have three new icebreakers," Rogozin said at a meeting with participants of the eighth youth expedition to the Arctic.

He said the renewal of the fleet of icebreakers is required in connection with development of the Northern Sea Route.

Earlier, Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky said the commissioning of the head nuclear icebreaker of the LK-60Ya series is expected in 2018, and the two others in 2020 and 2021.

The deputy prime minister recalled that to protect Russia's interests in the Arctic, a unified command on the basis of the Northern Fleet has been established.

"But we should not talk of militarization, we should talk of studying the macroregion," Rogozin said.